The objectives of the survey were to assist the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somalia i) in shifting its activities from relief to recovery and rehabilitation-oriented activities, ii) in identifying criteria to help better target the food insecure population, and iii) in critically assessing if there continues to be a need for relief assistance. A random sampling strategy was used to select villages and households to provide statistical confidence at both the regional administrative level and the macro-livelihood zone. In total 1,266 households were interviewed in 116 villages and water points across rural Puntland. The field work was conducted in April 2007 at the end of the Jilal, the longer of the two dry seasons, meaning that much of the food insecurity observed may be related to the season in which the data was collected.